The next day was 25th of October, St. Crispin’s day and the French vastly outnumbering the English were expecting a humiliating negotiated settlement. Negotiations ended at an early stage and both sides prepared for battle. The French though weren’t to be rushed and at 8:00 am had breakfast, laughing and joking. The English ate whatever they had left of their meagre rations.
A further 2 hours passed. The French could not wait- they had time on their side, blocking the road- but the English were getting weaker all the time. Henry then decided he had nothing to lose and forced the French into battle and advanced. Henry raised his horse, with no spurs, indicating he would dismount and fight on foot, along the English line. He even donned his royal surcoat of three leopards of England and three gold fleurdelis of France, which would mark him out to the French as the king. He gave a rousing speech exhorting them to act well and reminded the archers of the French boast to cut of three fingers of every right hand of every man captured.
The English then moved to within 300 yards of the enemy and began to fire. This sparked the French into action, their crossbow men loosing a volley but falling under pressure from the English archers. The first wave of French cavalry then charged- a low charge over the ploughed, rain-soaked ground, giving no impetus. Only three cavalry men died in the attack, but one of them was their commander. This caused the French to become unnerved and retreated into the now advancing main army. With forces moving in opposite directions and getting in each other’s way, the French were soon in total disarray, but still they marched on. Nearing exhaustion with the field turning into quagmire, churned up by thousands of heavily-armoured men, the English created an arrow storm for the men, ten ranks deep, who were now even afraid to look up in case an arrow pierced their visors. After 300 yards the army came into contact with the English but found that due to their numbers they had no space to aim a blow and what followed was a bloodbath.
Henry must have been in the think of the battle as his helmet, which is on display in Westminster Abbey, clearly shows a dent from a battle axe. Henry also prevented the death of the Earl of Oxford by standing over his badly wounded body. All 18 French squires who had won the right to fall Henry died trying. The archers dropped their bows and entered the fray using swords, axes and millets. The French started to fall back many a French noble tried to give in- but the battle- crazed, the English just struck them.
In Shakespeare’s play Henry does have a right to the throne of France. Shakespeare writes in the play:
“In terram salicam muliers ne succedant,
No woman shall succeed in Salic Land”
This meant Henry’s claim to the throne was known as Salic Law. This law applied to the present king of France at the time, because his mother, a ‘woman’ had been queen unlawfully. This lawbreaking thus affected the king of France at the time, the son of the previous queen. This evidence was the theory of France as the Archbishop of Canterbury advices Henry:
“Then hear me, gracious sovereign, and you peers,
That owe yourselves, your lives and services.
To this imperial throne. There is no bar
To make against your highness’ claim to France
But this which they produce from Pharamond”
Henry also went to war with France because of an event Shakespeare invented in the play as to give a legit excuse of the king going to war to show the audience as Henry being the ‘ideal king’
In scene 2 Shakespeare invented a scene where Henry is given a gift by the French Ambassador. The gift given to Henry is a ‘tun’ of tennis balls. This is an insult to Henry and he reacts badly and decides to invade France as punishment, as Shakespeare write:
“This jest with savour but of shallow wit!
When thousands weep more than did laugh at”
In real events this did not happen and Shakespeare invents this as to give Henry an ‘excuse’ to invade France and to present to the audience Henry as an ‘ideal king’ who does not like being mocked at!
In act 2 there is an introduction of the ‘minor’ characters Nym, Pistol, Bardolph etc. These were friends of Henry’s before he became king.
In this scene we are shown the death of Falstaff. He was one of the most popular characters on the stage. Shakespeare has him dead before the embarkation to France as Pistol yearns to his friends of Falstaff’s death:
“No; for my manly heart doth yearn.
Bardolph be blithe; Nym, ruse thy vaunting veins;
Boy, bristle thy courage u; for Falstaff he is dead,
And we must yearn therefore.”
Why did Shakespeare have Falstaff dead before the embarkation to France? Many notions have been put before this, but the most persuasive is that having Falstaff at Agincourt would detract from Henry’s ‘greatness’, and here once again he is trying to show to the audience Henry as the ‘ideal king’.
Also in act 2 Shakespeare introduces to the audience three traitors, who have been bribed by France to kill Henry in Southampton. This is another invention by Shakespeare. Although the traitors are real, the reasons are not. Shakespeare invents this for the audience to show sympathy for and increase the statue of Henry.
Henry finds out about the traitors and confronts the three in a room above the Red Lion Pub, Southampton. Historically this is accurate. However in real life Henry had them hung, drawn and quartered. A gruesome and bloody death. However in Shakespeare’s play, Henry ‘aquits them of mercy’, has them arrested and simply hung as Henry tells Exeter in the play:
“Touching our person seek we no revenge,
But we our kingdom’s safety must tender,
Whose ruin you have sought, that to her laws
We do deliver you. Get you therefore hence,
Poor miserable wretches, to your death,
The taste whereof God of his mercy give
You patience to endure, and true repentance
Of all your dear offences. Bear them hence”
The following act is act 3 scene 1. This has one of the most famous speeches in the play and shows Henry as he urges his men on by telling them to ‘act like the tiger’, and famous lines like
“Once more unto the breach, dear friends once more”
This is on of the epic speeches in the play and shows Henry as a king who is capable of urging his men on when the English people ‘knew’ they were going to die. This is the beauty of the speech and shows Henry as being the ‘ideal’ king once again.
The next act shows the two camps the night before the battle. The English are poor and condemned, sitting like sacrifices around a fire.
Henry walks through the camp, bidding each ‘good morrow’. Trying to cheer them up, ‘a little touch of Harry in the night’.
He is in disguise so nobody recognises him. He meets Pistol, his old friend from his early days in London, Fluellen- a welsh captain, Bates, Court and Williams- three ordinary English soldiers, the nobles and officers.
In real-life Henry would not have done this. He would have been hiding in the English camp carefully planning out the next day. Shakespeare shows Henry walking around in the English camp giving encouragement to his men to present Henry to the audience as an ‘ideal king’.
The next day battle is about to commence and Henry is encouraging his men on. This is also one of the most famous speeches in the play. The speech shows Henry persuading the army by saying they was no for more men:
“The fewer men, the greater share of honour.
God’s will, I pray thee wish not once man more”
He also tells the army that if one man did not want to fight he could leave now as Shakespeare writes:
“That he which hath no stomach to this fight,
Let his depart; his passport shall be made”
Henry would also pay their wages if anyone did not want to fight. Once again Shakespeare is relating to the audience Henry as an ‘ideal king’ as well as a gentleman.
Shakespeare is able to portray the battle scenes on a stage magnificently. There are a number of ways he does this, but the most important is his use of a chorus.
Shakespeare invents the use of a narrator. This is a brilliant new invention by Shakespeare and nowadays is used in countless movies and theatre productions. The narrator is contemporary to the audience and is used to explain events such as on act 3 where the narrator sets the scene as Henry embarks at Southampton and describes the English fleet sailing for France to set the scene before Harfleur:
“Thus with imagines wing our swift scene flies
In motion of no less celerity
Than that of thought, suppose that you have seen
The well-appointed king at Hampton pier
Embark his royalty; and his brave fleet
With silken streamers the young Phoebus fanning”
This linguistic device is unique to Shakespeare, who uses it in only two other plays and at the beginning of Romeo and Juliet.
Each act is a discrete unit. Each one takes place in a specific time and specific place. Act 1 starts with the chorus setting the scene in London. The chorus tells the audience to use their imagination and let the chorus set the scenes for them as the chorus reads:
“Admit me Chorus into history;
Who prologue-like, you humble patience pray,
Gently to hear, kindly to judge our play.”
Act 2 starts with the chorus setting the scene to Southampton where the King is set to take ship to France, but before that Henry must deal with the traitors and this is incorporated in the chorus.
“The sum is paid, the traitors are agreed,
The King is set from London, and the scene
Is now transported, gentles, to Southampton;”
Act 3 I have already analysed, but act 4 is the act where the chorus sets the scene for the Battle of Agincourt. The chorus reads of how the English are outnumbered but Henry gives them encouragement in the night:
“A little touch of Harry in the night.
And so our scene must to the battle fly;
Where-O for pity-we shall much disagree
With four or five most vile and ragged foils,
Right ill disposed in brawl ridiculous,
The name of Agincourt. Yet sit and see,
Minding true things by what their mock’ries be.”
In the final act the chorus sets the scene for Henry’s return to England, after defeating the French and becoming ruler of France and also finding a wife for himself:
“To welcome him! Much more, and more more cause,
Did they this Harry. Now in London place him.
As yet the lamentation of the French
Invites the King of England’s stay at home;
The Emperor’s coming in behalf of France”
I have analysed the essay question and have come to a conclusion. I think Shakespeare was very successful to portraying Henry as an ‘ideal king’. Shakespeare may have ‘invented’ some parts in the play but this is all to the audiences liking and I thought the play was marvellous! Shakespeare’s use of a narrator is a very clever invention as portraying the battle scenes on the stage at Shakespeare’s time was very hard, but the use of a narrator eradicates this feature and helps the audience see the scenes more clearly.
Adam Laher Batley High School For Boys